A Wausau police captain responds to recent op-ed on 'warrior cops'

The recent column published by Daily Herald Media discussing "warrior cops" was a respectfully written article, acknowledging the difficulty of police work. Its focus was the need for public scrutiny of police use of force. With this response, I'm hoping to inform our community about today's police officers and the public scrutiny involved in police work.

In training we routinely discuss being safe and "going home at the end of each shift." This doesn't mean we advocate pulling the trigger when we aren't sure of the situation just to be safe. In fact, it's quite the opposite. We use the "going home" mantra to advocate safe decision making. Every police officer knows there are serious, life-changing repercussions when they pull the trigger - even if he or she is 100 percent correct in the assessment of the situation. There is a serious psychological toll to be paid when a person takes another's life, not to mention the intense investigation and public scrutiny that comes with such a serious situation.

"Going home" isn't the only mantra we use in law enforcement. We also routinely ask ourselves and each other "Did you make a difference today?" There are few professions in this world in which people have the ability to touch the lives of people in their community every single day. That's why people get into policing; to touch people's lives and make our community a better place.

Even with all the education and training in the world, we sometimes make mistakes. We are human after all. Mistakes in our line of work can result in very serious outcomes. That's why we believe in things like integrity and accountability. When a police officer makes a mistake, it is the responsibility of the department to hold that officer accountable. We also expect public scrutiny in these cases.

We should be clear about the request made in the Daily Herald column for more public scrutiny when a police officer uses force. Every single thing we do in law enforcement is subject to open records law. Everything. Every report we write, every investigation we complete, every email, instant message, text message, video recording and audio recording. (There are a few exceptions, for example, active investigations.) Even our salary and benefit packages are subject to open records. Just last year the Daily Herald printed our salaries in a Sunday edition for all of our families and neighbors to see. Most people would never dream of seeing their salaries in the daily newspaper. That's OK, though. We understand we are public servants and that type of public scrutiny is expected.

We welcome public scrutiny and expect it in our work. The only thing we ask is that you wait to hear the details before rushing to judgment about our actions. We don't want to use force. We definitely don't want to kill anyone or any animal. Using deadly force is a traumatic event for an officer and that trauma can be exacerbated by a lack of understanding in the community. Our line of work, however, requires we be prepared to use deadly force to protect ourselves and members of our community.

At the Wausau Police Department, we strive for excellence in policing by partnering with the community to enhance the quality of life. That is our mission statement. We seek to build bridges and develop a wide network of relationships within our community to make it a great place. We cannot solve the problems of our community ourselves. We need the help of every citizen. Please get involved with our community by working with your neighborhood group, local nonprofits, elected officials or other groups in our community to help us be the best community possible.

Sometimes we need to have a warrior mindset because of the situations in which we find ourselves. But we would much rather be called friend or neighbor because we are an active part of this great community. We are not separate from the community; we strive to be one with the community.

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As cops, we accept scrutiny, value community: column

The recent column published by Daily Herald Media discussing 'warrior cops' was a respectfully written article, acknowledging the difficulty of police work. Its focus was the need for public scrutiny

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